Perchy Bysshe Shelley at Elan Valley

Percy Bysshe Shelley Commemorative Sculpture in grounds of Elan Valley Visitor Centre, unveiled in 1988.

The sculptor was Christopher Kelly.

The work was inspired by ‘Prometheus Unbound’, the theme was concerned with images of change with the sculpture reflecting this idea in its fluid shape. The sculpture comprises five figures cast in bronze set on a circular slate plinth. The central figure is Shelley deep in creative thought. Either side the dancing, nymph-like female figures represent the poet’s muse - as if they are rising out of the ground Shelley is kneeling on. Reference is also implied to the triangular relationships so prominent in the poet’s romantic life.

This was the artist’s first public commission and he began preparatory work during a three month residency at the Elan Valley Visitor Centre in 1986. The idea of celebrating famous writers connected with Powys by creating a series of sculptures about them or their work was first proposed by Ben Jones, a native of Powys. Other works can be found in Builth Wells, Llandrindod Wells, and Llangammarch Wells.The Powys Sculpture Trail was developed by the Welsh Sculpture Trust and Powys County Council, with the assistance of local organisations and individuals.

Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792 - 1822) was born in Sussex. Throughout his brief life he endorsed the idea of revolution in thought, politics and poetry. He stayed in the Elan Valley for several weeks in 1811 and 1812 at a house owned by his cousins, the Grove family. He drowned in Italy at the age of thirty in 1822.

Add to favourites